Jos - Accused of Witchcraft

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), children are accused of witchcraft all too often. 

Thousands of children have suffered and accused are taken to churches that carry out “purges”  or are forced to take products which stunt their growth. War Child’s Project Assistant Sebastian, who works at one of our centres for street children, explains that many of the accusations are due to extreme poverty.  “In general, where there is poverty in the family, children will be victimised as witches.” Poverty in DRC has increased since the war broke out in 1998 and with that has come and increase in these accusations.

Jos, who is just 12 years old when he was accused of being a witch by his local pastor. Jos claims that the pastors do this in order for them to make some money. Jos’s parents throw him out of their house and he was forced to live on the street, where life was tough for Jos: “When I was (on the street) I was suffering. It was very hard for me to find something to eat...I did not even have any place where to spend my nights."

A new constitution in DRC forbids accusations of witchcraft but the policy is not really followed and children still get accused.

Fortunately for Jos, he now attends a War Child centre for street children where he, and other children like him, are provided with food, counselling and care and have access to education. They are basic needs but by satisfying them, the centre offers children who have been shunned by their communities the chance to reintegrate themselves. It gives them a chance of a happier future. It has given Jos hope. His parents are still alive and he still hopes that one day, he will be able to return to the family home.  He wants to become a footballer and play for Barcelona but his biggest desire is far simpler than that – “I want people to consider me as another human being. A person with some dignity.”